Women have made great strides in education, employment, politics and equality in general worldwide, but participation in the labor force remains stubbornly below those of men. “By and large, a substantial proportion of mothers withdraw from employment after childbirth,” explains demography expert Joseph Chamie. Choices vary for men and women about working full or part time, placing children or elders in care, or staying at home for family duties. In India for 2016, 29 percent of women with young children joined the workforce versus 81 percent of men, and in Sweden, 80 percent of women are in the workforce versus 84 percent of men. Low participation rates contribute to a gender gap in wages, and higher participation rates contribute to economic growth and reduce poverty. Individuals and families make many calculations in balancing work and family responsibilities. Chamie notes that “families with two incomes are better prepared for unemployment, higher education, martial disruption, illness or economic downturns.” [Note: contains copyrighted material].

The report gives an overview of an expert consultation on the role and future of education and skills in the digital world. It looks at which skills are important and necessary to undertake the different types of jobs available, and what skills we need to be thinking of developing now and in the future. It explores how we ensure that people are not left out of the digital age and have access to education on digital skills. It looks at how we think about formal education and how our thinking needs to evolve with the increasing adoption of digital tools and technologies, particularly among the younger generation. The report proposes a preliminary framework to ensure an inclusive education in an increasingly digital world and suggests roles for different stakeholders to ensure that this becomes a reality. The consultation highlighted the important role of government and industry in encouraging the greater use of digital technologies in learning. However, it also recognises that the future should not be driven by technology. The report notes that role of the educator is not diminished by the increased adoption of digital technologies, with it being seen as an effective tool to make learning more adaptive and flexible. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

Working longer can significantly benefit older adults, improving their financial security and possibly their physical and emotional health. Older adults have been working more over the past two decades, but employment gains after age 65 have been concentrated among college graduates. Early retirement will likely create growing financial challenges for less-educated older adults, who risk falling further behind their better-educated peers. This chartbook shows how trends in various outcomes, including labor force participation, full-time employment, self-employment, and earnings, differ by education, age, and sex for older adults. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

Throughout history, the talent pool of women has been underutilized in the national security sector. Trends over the past 40 years—since the first classes of women were accepted to the nation’s military academies—show an increase in the representation of women in the military and throughout national security departments and agencies, including in the Department of Defense, the Department of State, the Central Intelligence Agency, and, more recently, the Department of Homeland Security—but not necessarily at the top. In the post-9/11 world, women have made up a larger and more visible portion of the national security establishment, yet they remain in the minority of leadership positions. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

With nearly 2 million college-educated immigrants and refugees in the United States unable to fully utilize their professional skills, better understanding of the elements of successful programs and policies that reduce the waste of advanced education and skills can benefit immigrants, their families, and the U.S. economy more generally.

This report explores a range of frontline programs and policy reforms that are providing cutting-edge career navigation, relicensing, gap filling, and job search assistance for foreign-trained professionals in a wide range of occupations. It also examines different state policy and licensing contexts that affect these highly skilled individuals, with a focus on the dense thicket of state laws and regulations that slow or prevent qualified individuals from practicing in a wide range of occupations. [Note: contains copyrighted material].

A key question confronting German policymakers has been how to successfully integrate asylum seekers into the labor market after record numbers arrived in 2015. This report examines the challenges newcomers face in getting jobs at their skill level as well as accessing language and training courses. The report outlines the many integration initiatives created in Germany, and offers recommendations for greater effectiveness.[Note: contains copyrighted material].

Despite the positive effect of paternity- and parental leave uptake by fathers on a number of economic, social and demographic outcomes, the current uptake of leave by fathers across Europe is low. Research has shown that there is a large number of interlocking factors that affect uptake of leave by fathers, including the height of compensation, the availability of affordable childcare, the flexibility of leave arrangements, gender norms and cultural expectations. The author describes the different policies available across Europe that address the uptake of paternity leave and parental leave, discusses the link between uptake of leave by fathers and the various outcomes associated with uptake, and gives an overview of the existing barriers to uptake. She finds that although low or absent compensation levels during the leave are a key factor why fathers will or cannot take their leave entitlement, an increase in uptake will most likely result from an interlocking set of family policies that help dual earner families to combine work and family life in a sustainable manner. These include policies that directly encourage fathers to take up leave, such as well-compensated individual leave entitlements, policies aimed at creating a sustainable solution to the challenges of combining work and family life, such as leave arrangements that are flexible and adaptive to individual needs, but also policies aimed at changing workplace culture. [Note: contains copyrighted material].